The new coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv, knows why he was placed in Kiryat Shalom • Success in the mission in which his predecessor failed in the job and obtaining a ticket to the European home stage, will be a celebration for owner Goldhaar, and will mainly be an economic lifeline for the club. , He will see from home

• Yorgos Donis in his debut training in Kiryat Shalom. Will he succeed where Ivica failed?

  Photo: 

  The official website of Maccabi Tel Aviv

The hundred days of grace of Yorgos Donis ended even before they began. The 50-year-old Greek coach does not have a normal period in which he can get to know the club and the abilities of its new players.

Already next week he will have to beat Latvia Riga in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. The fact that this is a reciprocal knockout game certainly does not contribute to Donis, and he also knows - it's all or nothing.

The heads of Maccabi explained to Donis how critical success is for them in the European arena. Soon we will come to an explanation, but even before that, no coach wants to fail where his predecessor in office failed. Vladimir Ivitch, who arrived with far less experience than Donis had accumulated, failed in the mission two years in a row.

Last year’s humiliation against Lithuanian Sudova, which the Yellows may face again in the next round, is something that would have risen in the chair to other coaches, but the impressive superiority the Serb showed in the league a season earlier was of course to his credit. Now the Greek coach is coming to change the situation and bring the Yellows back to Europe.

Maccabi Tel Aviv's arrival at the European home stage this year is a kind of economic lifeline for it. We will start with the fact that in light of the new UEFA regulations, following the Corona epidemic, the penalties imposed on the Yellows for fair play offenses will also be carried to the 2020/21 season This, even though Maccabi was supposed to end its compromise agreement with UEFA this season, after meeting the goals set for it.

Of course, the demands for revenue growth will be in line with the epidemic situation, and the group's budget has already been cut significantly this summer. But when the future is in a fog because of the damn virus, income from Europe can be a kind of economic security for the future to come.

At this stage, the Yellows' revenues were not harmed too much, in light of the defense network that the Ministry of Finance threw to the Premier League teams. But in the same breath it must be said: the Yellows cannot build with certainty on this revenue, because it is possible that the crowd will be able to return to the pitches at one time or another, which will allow the sale of subscriptions again. In such a situation, who guarantees that people will not be afraid to come to the stadium and that Maccabi will be able to sell 20,000 subscribers again?

Donis lands in Israel. Immigrating to the second factory is also worth a lot of money // Photo: Danny Maron

In light of all this, the surest income Maccabi can achieve is as a result of UEFA grants, for participating in the home stage of the Champions League or the Europa League. Of course the dream is to reach the more senior factory, where the grants are much higher (tens of millions) and will help Maccabi for years to come. , But also immigration to the second factory in its importance is worth a great deal of money - between four and five million euros in total.

money is not everything

But the economic aspect is not the point. Canadian owner Mitch Goldhaar wants his team to return to Europe. This is important to him personally and image-wise. The club claim that last year Goldhaar shared with his associates that he felt his team would fail in Europe even before the painful dismissals. The owner's feelings have become a reality, which is something he would not want to happen again. This is one of the reasons why Maccabi chose to bring in an experienced coach like Donis, who has already tasted the sweet taste of the Champions League. "Two years without a European season is too much for a club like Maccabi Tel Aviv," say those around the club.

Luckily for Donis, this year there are no doubles in the qualifiers. So if he manages to get past Riga and then the winner between Sudova and Flora Tallinn (Estonia), he will be very close to meeting the task, as if he is knocked out in the third qualifying round of the Champions League, his team will automatically drop out of the Europa League playoffs. The houses will not be so long.

"We do not have much time, and the goal to qualify for the Champions League home stage is a very big goal for the club," said Donis. "We will have to find the right way, and we will pass the instructions to the players step by step so as not to confuse them. We have good, stable players in mind "And they are able to make the adjustments to us very quickly so that we can succeed in the task."

Mitch Goldhaar. Wants to finally see success in Europe as well // Photo: Ami Shumen 

And for Maccabi to be successful in Europe this year, it needs new tools. New foreign players to replace the four who left, and here a small problem arose. It is very difficult to land quality foreign players here, easy and material when the salary they offer is not as Maccabi could have offered in the past. "Donis will be the authority in choosing the foreigners and all the new players," Maccabi clarified, where they know that the new coach's connections can help land a good foreigner or two, but Maccabi also operates in other channels.

The first channel is in motion, because the window of the season is relatively long, and reality is likely to come (players who will not find teams or be ejected from them). If the group secures a place in the European houses stage, it will in this way be able to "market" itself in front of quality foreigners.

Ivica. Leaving behind a legacy of success only in the local arena // Photo: Ami Shumen 

Another channel is that Maccabi have also started squinting into the African market, to see if it is possible to land a player with potential who can immediately integrate into the team. It is still unclear what will come out of all this stew in Kiryat Shalom, but Donis knows very well that time is short and the work is plentiful.

Due to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, Donis will not be able to stand on the lines tonight in the Champions League rematch against Hapoel BS, to which the Yellows come with a 0: 2 advantage from the first game, so Patrick Van Leven will guide the team. Jonathan Cohen is in the squad, while Itai Schechter In isolation and will be absent.